On the one hand the fall of the Christian Middle East at Yarmuk and the sack of Constantinople by the Ottomans, on the other the glorious multicultural societies of Cordoba and Palermo - these and other fragments of our collective memory come alive as part of a huge canvas in this fresh narrative history by a master popular historian.
 Trade In this Item for up to £1.70
Trade in Sea of Faith: Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.70, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Card, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more
|
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"'Marvellous accomplishment' Publishers Weekly (US) 'A vast wave of learning, every page carrying a glittering freight of insight, detail and caustic observation' Independent on Sunday 'O'Shea writes miraculously well... a kind of masterpiece, unlike any other book on the subject' Andrew Wheatcroft, Toronto Globe & Mail"
About the Author
Stephen O'Shea, for many years a journalist in Paris and New York, contributed to a wide variety of publications on the arts and translated French feature films. The Friar of Carcassonne is his third book of medieval history. He currently lives with his two daughters in Providence, Rhode Island. stephenosheaonline.com
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By calmly
Format:Paperback
I enjoy the flow of the writing. Just how O'Shea assembles so many facts I don't know. He provides a "you are there" feeling for the many battles. I am surprised so many details of those battles have survived a millennium. One learns to at least appreciate from this book the value in having adequate supplies of water during a battle. O'Shea apparently visited many of the locations he covers in this book including the battlefields to the extent the exact sites are known nowadays.
That "convivencia", an unusual level of cooperation between Muslims, Christians, and Jews was possible in places during much of the period O'Shea covers, is one good reminder of the value of studying history. One might not suspect given current relationships among these groups that such intellectual and cultural sharing was possible.
On the other hand, the barbarism during the warfare including the Crusades is a reminder of the violence associated with different cultures and religions. The description of Crusader's slaughter of so many defenseless man, women and children in the 1099 ransack of Jerusalem is shocking albeit briefly described. I'm reminded of the destruction of an entire Cather city by Crusaders that O'Shea describes in his earlier work "The Perfect Heresy".
Would O'Shea hope to earn enough from this book to sufficiently reward his major efforts? He must love what he is doing. Hopefully readers will support him in writing histories for a long time.
That "convivencia", an unusual level of cooperation between Muslims, Christians, and Jews was possible in places during much of the period O'Shea covers, is one good reminder of the value of studying history. One might not suspect given current relationships among these groups that such intellectual and cultural sharing was possible.
On the other hand, the barbarism during the warfare including the Crusades is a reminder of the violence associated with different cultures and religions. The description of Crusader's slaughter of so many defenseless man, women and children in the 1099 ransack of Jerusalem is shocking albeit briefly described. I'm reminded of the destruction of an entire Cather city by Crusaders that O'Shea describes in his earlier work "The Perfect Heresy".
Would O'Shea hope to earn enough from this book to sufficiently reward his major efforts? He must love what he is doing. Hopefully readers will support him in writing histories for a long time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This give a unique spiritual and ethical interpretation of the spiritual values of both Islam & Christianity-as both
originated from Judaism-as all these great faiths-regard Abraham-as their spiritual founding father.
originated from Judaism-as all these great faiths-regard Abraham-as their spiritual founding father.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An incredible journey into the creation of the three great faiths that shaped the western hemispheres
1 Jun 2012
By AP Bove
Format:Paperback
I cannot believe that only 4 people have reviewed this book. It should be required reading for any student interested in European history. As a Greek-Canadian it has revolutionised my view of the Medierranean and the different influences that have shaped the region today. Well written and as enthralling as a novel. Trust me, you will talk about this book at dinner parties, pubs and will read it more than once.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The other commentators have said pretty much all about this book; what I like is the level of the language, addressed to the intelligent layman without on the one hand going into excessive detail nor on the other being patronising/simplistic. A book to which I will return at times for a refresh.
5.0 out of 5 stars
a masterpiece of popular history and a meditation on imperial ambition
11 Aug 2011
By rob crawford
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This book is a labor of love: you can feel the author's fascination with the subject, which he pursued with a passion that is rarely found in academia. The result is a highly readable, informative, and exciting history of the battle for the Meditarranean, between a succession of Christian and Moslem empires. If you want to know about the origins of Islam, the eclectic culture of southern Spain, the Crusades, or the rise and containment of the Ottoman Empire, this is the ideal place ot start.
The story revolves around the Mediterranean Sea, when the Roman empire has broken down with the exception of Byzantium in the East. There is an unforeseen development - the founding of a new monotheistic faith, the Islam of Mohammed - that releases extraordinary energy, both intellectual and empire-building. In spite of a serious schism (Sunni v. Shiite) and lack of political unity, the Moslem armies sweep across Northern Africa and into the heart of Western Europe in less than 2 centuries. Over the next 800 years, incessant war results that can be called east-west, but also civil insurrections of huge proportion. THere is a great flowering of civilization and learning, with many mythic figures from Saladin the Kurd to el Cid, a soldier of fortune in Spain. The author dissects these stories, seeking the truth and filling in the blanks with wonderful detail, eventually ending the story when the Atlantic begins to replace the Mediterranean as the world's center of commerce. The sweep is dazzling.
What is truly astounding is the density of the writer's style. He explains the competing religious doctrines, the mechanics of warfare in each age, and the political deals worked out to allow the various faiths at times to co-exist.... Read more ›
The story revolves around the Mediterranean Sea, when the Roman empire has broken down with the exception of Byzantium in the East. There is an unforeseen development - the founding of a new monotheistic faith, the Islam of Mohammed - that releases extraordinary energy, both intellectual and empire-building. In spite of a serious schism (Sunni v. Shiite) and lack of political unity, the Moslem armies sweep across Northern Africa and into the heart of Western Europe in less than 2 centuries. Over the next 800 years, incessant war results that can be called east-west, but also civil insurrections of huge proportion. THere is a great flowering of civilization and learning, with many mythic figures from Saladin the Kurd to el Cid, a soldier of fortune in Spain. The author dissects these stories, seeking the truth and filling in the blanks with wonderful detail, eventually ending the story when the Atlantic begins to replace the Mediterranean as the world's center of commerce. The sweep is dazzling.
What is truly astounding is the density of the writer's style. He explains the competing religious doctrines, the mechanics of warfare in each age, and the political deals worked out to allow the various faiths at times to co-exist.... Read more ›
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Jon Rowe
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Without a doubt, this is a timely book. After a long but unquiet slumber, the old myths of religious conflict are being resurrected and the "clash of civilisations" (to use Samuel P. Huntingdon's ghastly and ill-omened phrase) are being trotted out by demagogues on both sides of the Atlantic. Time, then, for an informed and humane study of the shared history of Islam and Christianity. Fortunately, this book is both beautifully written and deeply perceptive, evoking sympathy and admiration for both sides in a story of sibling rivalry with more than its fair share of thuggish atrocity and ignorance. O'Shea's contention is that medieval Christianity and Islam represent a single civilisation - he unearths the delightful term "convivencia" to describe their mutual living arrangements - and he traces the ebbs and flows of confessional politics across the Mediterranean up to the dawn of the modern era.
In the early chapters it is of course hard not to sympathise with the Muslims: cultured and sophisticated, riding a high tide of enthusiasm for a faith that has brought them both unity and prosperity, colliding noisily with the hotch-potch of barbarian fiefdoms and decayed Roman oligarchies pock-marking the shattered margins of the Middle Sea. If only those maladorous warlords would just settle down under the benign yoke of the Prophet and just get on with each other! As the centuries roll by, the Christians acquire their own ramshackle charm - part wild-eyed fanatic, part cumudgeonly Robin Hood - while various parts of the Caliphate implode under incompetent monarchs and the internal contradictions of a revolutionary faith mired to worldly power (a paradox shared by the Christian churches of this period).... Read more ›
In the early chapters it is of course hard not to sympathise with the Muslims: cultured and sophisticated, riding a high tide of enthusiasm for a faith that has brought them both unity and prosperity, colliding noisily with the hotch-potch of barbarian fiefdoms and decayed Roman oligarchies pock-marking the shattered margins of the Middle Sea. If only those maladorous warlords would just settle down under the benign yoke of the Prophet and just get on with each other! As the centuries roll by, the Christians acquire their own ramshackle charm - part wild-eyed fanatic, part cumudgeonly Robin Hood - while various parts of the Caliphate implode under incompetent monarchs and the internal contradictions of a revolutionary faith mired to worldly power (a paradox shared by the Christian churches of this period).... Read more ›
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 25 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Religious History > Christianity
- Books > History > Religious History > Islam
- Books > History > Religious History > Other Religions
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
